


Double-Sided {A DenNor Fic} {Battle of the Storms AU}

by TheSweetSideOfInsanity



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Battle of the Storms AU, DenNor, M/M, hetalia AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-01-09 22:19:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12285444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSweetSideOfInsanity/pseuds/TheSweetSideOfInsanity
Summary: {This story is placed in an AU that I made up called the Battle of the Storms AU (description in book!)}Lukas Bondevik is a Water and Wind elementalist, and a spy for the Typhoon Alliance. What happens when he's asked by his leader to go undercover?





	1. {Battle of the Storms AU- Explanation}

_**Hey guys~! It's me, the Author of Double-Sided! You can call me Maple for now-** _

_**Anyways, here's that (very basic) explanation of the Battle of the Storms AU that I promised!** _

_**The Battle of the Storms AU takes place in a futuristic world. There are two alliances; The Typhoon alliance-comprised mostly of Wind and Water elementalists- and the Seismic alliance-comprised  of mostly Earth and Fire elementalists.** _

_**The alliances have been fighting for years over territory and many other things (It's truly up to how the writer/artist wants to interpret it!)** _

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

_**Well, there that is~! I hope you enjoy Double-Sided!** _


	2. {Prolouge}

The male slunk quietly along in the shadows, careful to avoid the guards’ watchful eyes as he moved. He forced himself to keep his breaths quiet; one wrong move could jeopardize his mission or even worse- get himself killed. When the male got to what he was sure was the main tent he took in a deep breath, pushing his hands downward and launching himself up into the air. His dark blue cloak fluttered softly as he went over the open top of the tent, quietly lowering himself in.

Several paces away guards stood at the main entrance to the tent, their eyes watching the flaps that fluttered slightly in the stormy weather. The blonde could tell that they weren’t happy to be stuck on guard duty by their body language- Their shoulders were slouched slightly, and they just seemed to give off an unhappy aura.

Quietly  the male landed on the ground, his feet barely even making a thud. He looked around, spotting the large map on a table in the center of the room. He kept his footsteps light, walking quickly over to the table. His fingers grasped the parchment, quickly and quietly rolling it up and sliding it into the air-sealed tube that he had been given. Just as he began to close the tube the flaps to the tent parted. 

His body froze up slightly, and he quickly pulled his hood down over his face. The man that had entered looked at the guards before seeing the small blonde male, and his lips parted to shout out a warning. “Typhoon intruder! He has the battle plans!” 

The male quickly jumped to the side as a fireball was flung at him, and he willed a burst of air underneath him, rocketing himself up into the air and out of the tent. By then many soldiers had been alerted to his presence, and their eyes watched the skies. One let out a sharp cry, and balls of fire and rock flew upwards. 

The blonde quickly swerved in the air, avoiding the projectiles as best as he could before flying down towards the woods that he had come from. He would definitely have a better chance of losing the Seismic soldiers there.

The moment his feet landed on the pine-needle covered forest floor he began to sprint, already hearing the voices of the soldiers behind him. His sharp breaths hit the chilly air, forming small puffs of smoke as he exhaled. His blood pulsed through his veins, pounding through his head like the footsteps of the soldiers that were pursuing him. Battle cries filled the air, filling it with energy.

A curse left the male’s lips as he felt flames begin to lick at his backside, and he quickly tore off the cape-like part of his cloak. He turned his head back to look at the soldiers, cursing softly. They were gaining on him, and fast.

He sped up his footsteps even more, thrusting his hands backwards and jumping up slightly. He propelled himself through the trees using the air currents, soon hearing the sound of rushing water. This caused a faint smile to grace his usually stoic expression. Soon enough he stumbled upon a clearing, a river running almost furiously over a cliff into a waterfall. 

The blonde went to the edge of the cliff, standing at the edge of it and waiting for the small group of soldiers to catch up with him. With a quick breath in of air he sealed the tube that held the battle plans.

Barely even a moment later the group of soldiers burst into the clearing, headed by a male with seemingly gravity defying hair. His ice blue eyes blazed with both bloodlust and excitement, and he quickly shouted out. “Strike!”

With that one command shards of rocks began to tear through the earth, flying at the blonde male at the edge of the cliff. He swiftly blocked them, using bursts of air to destroy the shards. He turned towards the group, smirking softly at them before waving almost teasingly. His violet eyes met ice blue ones before he took in a deep breath, backflipping off of the cliff.

The small group of soldiers rushed forwards, sending volleys of fireballs and rock shards over the edge of the cliff.

But none of them hit, for the male had disappeared into the mist and foam at the bottom of the falls.


	3. {Chapter 1}

        The blonde male walked through the large government building, usually stoic expression on his face. Typhoon had won the small skirmish, thanks to his little steal of Seismic’s battle plans. A small hum left his lips as he reached the large dark-oak doors, rapping his knuckles against the door and humming faintly. A voice, thick with a British accent, replied several moments later. “Come in.”

        The blonde male opened one of the doors, closing it behind him before speaking. “Kiku said you had an assignment for me, Arthur.”

        “Indeed I do.” Arthur says, lacing his fingers together on top of the large oak desk that he sat behind. In front of him sat a folder, open to show several thick stacks of papers. He took in a breath before speaking again. “Lukas, the council has suggested to me that you go undercover in Seismic to gather more intel.”

        Lukas’ violet eyes widened slightly as he walked forwards, looking down at the files on the desk. The papers were written in Therian- the language that seemed to be used most commonly in Therion. He was only aware of this because part of his training was to learn all of the languages of Terra. His gaze scanned the files, and he listened intently as Arthur spoke on.

        “I have several people that will help you to prepare for your journey into Therion; You have a week to get ready.” His emerald green eyes flashed slightly before speaking. “Once you’re done looking over your files, head down to the Weapons and Technology center. Lutz has some things that he needs to train you in, and Flavio has to get your measurements so he can make your clothing.”

        Lukas nods slightly at this and he closes the folder, holding it firmly in his hand as he speaks quietly. “Alright.” He then turns, heading out of the large office. He had to study the files immediately and memorize as much information as he could, as fast as he could. His gaze flickered down to the folder as he walked, heading towards the air-propelled elevator and stepping in.

        With one hand he pointed his left hand downwards, forcing the large steel box upwards. When he got to the floor where the recruits and soldiers normally stayed he headed immediately towards his ‘dorm’, opening his door. His roommate Kiku was on his own bed, and he looked up as the Norwegian male entered.

“Konnichiwa.” The Japanese male said softly, almost immediately looking back down to the piece of technology that he was working on. His fingers swiftly worked with the thin wires, his chocolate brown eyes holding a look of determination and intense concentration. When he couldn’t get in a specific piece he took in a deep breath, using the air to move the pieces into place.

Lukas watched him for several moments before going to sit at the desk at the foot of his bed, opening up his files. His violet eyes quickly scanned over the symbols, his brow furrowing slightly as he mouthed the complex words to himself.

After a couple of hours the male closed the files, humming slightly as he looked over at the industrial clock on the wall. Lukas opened one of the drawers in his desk, sliding the files in and locking it before standing up and stretching his arms above his head, letting out a rather loud yawn. Even though he was tired, he had worked that still needed to be done.

The Norwegian uttered a quick goodbye to his roommate, leaving the room and heading back to the elevator. He held onto the railing in the elevator, enjoying the feeling of falling for a moment before he stopped the elevator and stepped out into the Weapons and Technology center. He could see a bright flash of light from the opposite end of the room, and he could hear a very familiar shout of victory.

        Soon the familiar platinum blonde hair came into view, as well as the bulky and muscled body of the German male. Lutz looked around for a moment before spotting Lukas, a lazy grin gracing his lips. “Come here, Lukas!” He shouted through the large room, his voice echoing.

        The Norwegian obeyed, walking to the corner of the room where Lutz’s work station was. He had masses upon masses of wires on his table, as well as several sheets of what looked like tattoos. The German grinned widely, and he spoke again. “So, I’ve got to get you fitted with these bad boys.”

 Lutz gestures over to the sheets of tattoos, speaking as he grabbed a sheet. “These are removable tattoos that I designed. They’re a very thin film , and they have microcomputers in them that activate a chemical. When the microcomputers are hit with a certain air pressure, they activate the chemicals, which then produce a spark that can easily be manipulated into flames.”

To prove his point the German peeled one of the tattoos off of the sheet, putting it onto his wrist and smoothing it down. He closed his eyes, taking in a breath before sharply moving his wrist through the air. A spark ignited, and his hair rustled slightly as he willed a small air current to form and pass over the small spark. This caused a small flame to light up in his hand.

Lukas watched this, in awe of what just happened. His eyes had gained a spark that hadn’t been there before, making the dark violet hues sparkle like gems.

Lutz let out a small chuckle, extinguishing the flames quickly. He peeled the tattoo off, sticking it back to the sheet and speaking. “I’ve got to make some for you this week once I get the proper measurements.” A hum leaves his lips before he holds up Lukas’s wrist, inspecting it and mumbling softly to himself in German. He continues to do this scan of Lukas’ body, soon speaking out loud. “Alright. So, I’m going to make tattoos for your arms, legs, back, and chest. The night before you leave, I will help you apply the tattoos before Flavio fits you in your arrival outfit.”

Lukas nods softly at this before speaking, his voice soft. “Alright.” He thought for a moment before speaking again. “Is there anything else that you need my measurements for?”

“No, actually, but I have some other things that I need to show you.” Lutz says, grabbing a necklace off of his work table. It was one that held a flame-orange gem in the center , and it was surrounded by a small cage of silver. “The top part of the cage has a transmitter microphone in it, so if you press your thumb to the bottom of the cage, the wires in the bars will activate and start transmitting whatever you say to us.”

Lukas nodded, humming for a moment. When he looked out the window of the lab he saw that it was getting rather dark, he spoke. “Thank you for briefing me on everything.” As he headed towards a door in the back of the lab, he spoke again. “I’m going to go work with Flavio now, so if you need me, just call.”

The Norwegian opened the door, stepping into the room that said door hid before closing it. A familiar blonde head popped itself up from behind a large stack of fabrics, and a soft sound of annoyance left him. “Finally, you’re here! I’ve been waiting for hours!” Flavio seemingly launched himself upwards from the chair, grabbing a measuring tape in his hands and heading over to Lukas and measuring rapidly, mumbling the numbers to himself.

The Norwegian simply waited, looking around at the multitude of fabrics that were on the racks in the room. Rich red silks caught his eye, as well as several dark oranges and even some yellows.

“So, how do you have to act while you’re over there in Therion? I know they act way differently than we do here.” Flavio says, picking up a pencil and doing some quick adjustments to the design that he had open and showing on his sketchpad. He hums softly before speaking, looking at Lukas and holding up the sketchpad. “You can look through the designs while you tell me, if you like.”

The Norwegian takes the sketchpad in his hands, gaze scanning the pages as he speaks. “I have to talk a lot more, and just be more sociable in general. It also said it would be best if I acted a bit more flirty, as the Therian people are quite the flirts.”

Flavio nods before he lets out a small chuckle, his unusual pink-toned eyes gaining a slight gleam to them. “Anything else?”

“When off of work, they often party.” Lukas says, scoffing slightly. “I don’t see why they do that, though. There are far better uses of time and energy.”

“Well, hon, I gotta tell you something.” Flavio states, looking Lukas in the eye for a moment as a serious expression crossed his face. When he spoke, his voice held a dead serious tone. “You need to remove that stick that seems to be stuck up your ass and let loose.” He then grins slightly, letting out a small laugh afterwards.

The Norwegian rolled his eyes slightly, smiling very faintly at this. He continued scanning through the multitude of designs that Flavio had made, handing the Italian male the sketchpad before speaking again. “These designs will work well. They follow the design choices of the Therian culture very well.”

“That’s why there’s a thing called research, hon.” Flavio says, a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice. A grin painted his lips afterword, though. “Now shoo. I need to get working on sewing, and you need to work on not being such a tightass.”

Lukas rolled his eyes slightly at this before heading towards the door, speaking loud enough for the blonde Italian to hear. “Ha det.”

“Ciao~!” Flavio seemed to chirp, offering him a small wave. The Norwegian male opened the door, taking in a deep breath as he stepped out.

One of the most important days in both his life and career was happening just several days from then-

And he couldn’t screw it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, after writing this, I took a look at myself and decided several things-
> 
> 1) Based on my more open and hyper personality, I would be a Therian fire-elementalist.
> 
> 2) Flavio is probably gonna be the sassiest character in the story ngl-
> 
> 3) I'm going to push through my frequent writer's block that I have to work on this story (And not give up on it when I'm not inspired for a day!) This story is basically my child now, and I don't want to be known as a child-killer-
> 
> Anyways, this is Maple, signing off until the next update!


	4. {Chapter 2}

Lukas looked down at the fake tattoos on his body, the film-y material weightless against his skin. To test them out a bit he concentrated, using a little bit of air to create a spark. He quickly manipulated it into a small flame, making the flame grow in the palm of his hand for a couple moments before making it disappear completely.

        Lutz seemed to grin softly upon seeing this, and he spoke. “You like them?”

        “They’re certainly the most interesting gadget that I’ve gotten to use.” Lukas states softly, looking in the small mirror that Lutz had supplied. The tattoos were designs that seemed to swirl up from his ankles, covering his legs and certain parts of his chest. They went up his neck as well, and he knew that many of them covered his back.

        “Well, you should probably go see Flavio now. Knowing him, he’s going to take at least three hours to pick out your arrival outfit.” Lutz says, humming slightly.

        Nodding in agreement, Lukas headed towards where Flavio’s workroom was, opening the door. The blonde Italian was running back and forth like a chicken with its head cut off, moving garments to different racks and mumbling loudly to himself. When Lukas cleared his throat to make his presence known Flavio’s head whipped around to look at him, and a bit of a grin graced his lips. “Finally!”

        The blonde rushed to grab an outfit off of one of the racks, pushing it into the Norwegian’s arms and speaking hurriedly. “I have 16 outfits for you to try on so I can do final adjustments, and then we have to pick one out-”

        Lukas lets out a faint chuckle, taking the clothing off of the hangers. The first outfit had a bit of an oriental feel to it; it had the stylings of the Chinese province of Therion. The Norwegian puts on the shirt, fixing the collar to make it rest tight against his neck before sliding on the tighter bottoms.

        Flavio inspected the outfit, his brows furrowing slightly as he mumbled to himself. He gestured for the Norwegian to take off the outfit, quickly jotting down some notes on the notepad that he had grabbed.

        This process repeated itself for a couple more hours until Flavio finally decided on an outfit for the Norwegian- It was a sleeveless top with a hood, with cargo style-pants in deep red colors with a pair of black combat boots. They very closely mimicked the fashions of the American province, and would help very greatly in making him blend in more.

        Flavio scanned Lukas, circling him much like a predator would before pouncing on its prey. “It needs one last touch…” Flavio says, his brows furrowing slightly. He seemed to be in deep thought for a few moments before he snapped himself out of it. Quickly he ran over to his desk, opening a drawer and searching through it for a couple of moments. When he came back he held a contacts case in his hand, holding it out to Lukas before speaking. “Put these in.”

        When Lukas opened the case he saw a pair of contacts that had a beautifully bright orange hue to them. The male quickly put them in, looking at Flavio for a moment before speaking. “Are we done now?”

        “Indeed, we are!” Flavio says, letting out a slight squeal. “You look amazing!” The Italian gently pushed the Norwegian to a full-length mirror that hung on the wall, his eyes bright.

        Lukas scanned his appearance, a faint smirk gracing his lips. He moved to see how the outfit fit from several different angles, actually liking the way that the clothing fit on his form.

        Flavio spoke quickly, his voice holding both a tone of excitement and seriousness. “Alright, so I’m going to pack the rest of the outfits for you to have as extras real quick.” Once again the Italian zipped around the room, a trunk-like suitcase in tow as he packed outfits into it. Soon enough he finished, handing the trunk to Lukas. “There’s enough clothing for a couple of weeks, so you can get more when you get there if you need it.” He offered the Norwegian a small smile before speaking. “Good luck out there, Lukas. Don’t fuck it up.”

        “I’ll try not to.” Lukas replies, smiling back faintly. He turns towards the door, dragging the trunk along behind him. When he stepped into the room, he saw Lutz’s amethyst gaze look into his eyes before scanning him up and down, and a grin graced his lips. “You look hot. Pun intended."

        A blush hit Lukas’s cheeks, but he quickly shook it off, putting on a fake grin and speaking. “Well, I’m a Fire elementalist. What else do you think I would be?”

        This caused Lutz to let out a slight laugh before speaking. “You’ve got this in the bag. I believe in you.” His amethyst eyes had a sparkle in them, and he pat Lukas’s back slightly before he took in a breath and spoke again. “Good luck.”

        “ _Takk skal du ha_.” Lukas says softly, heading towards the elevator. When he stepped inside, he took a deep breath; as soon as he stepped over that border, he held the weight of many people’s hopes on his shoulders. His now-orange eyes closed and he took a breath, launching himself upwards using the air currents below him.

        When he stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor, he was met by two people; the leader of Typhoon, Arthur, and a tall blonde. He had an intimidatingly stoic expression on his face, and what seemed like a small frown on his lips.

        “Good evening, Lukas.” Arthur says, his emerald gaze cool and showing almost no emotion. He gestured to the tall blonde, speaking. “This is Berwald. He will be the pilot that will fly you to the Therian border.”

        Berwald nodded before he spoke, his tones deep and resonating. “ _Hälsningar_ , Lukas.” He seemed to nod faintly before turning his head to look at Arthur before speaking. “Should we get going?”

        “Indeed, you should. The sun is going to start rising soon, and I’d prefer that you get him there before day breaks.” The Brit hummed for a second before turning to Lukas, speaking with a level tone. “On behalf of myself and the rest of the region of Hithan, I wish you luck.”

        “Thank you.” Lukas says, bowing his head slightly. His orange gaze goes to Berwald, his brow raising slightly.

        The Swedish male nods faintly, gesturing for him to follow. The two walked on in silence before they got to a large plane hangar, heading towards a small plane. Berwald gestured for Lukas to get in first, putting the male’s trunk in the cargo compartment of the small plane before climbing in himself.

        As soon as they left the hangar, Berwald spoke. “As soon as I tell you to, press the button to your left and prepare to be dropped. You’ll have to use your powers to land. Your luggage will drop a short distance from you.”

        Lukas nods faintly, watching as they passed over a small mountain range. He ran over everything in his mind, taking in deep breaths to calm his now rapidly beating heart.

        After quite a while in comfortable silence, Lukas looked out the window of the plane again. He could see sand and desert rolling in waves beneath him, the expanse full of orange and brown hues.

        “Press the button.” Berwald says suddenly, and Lukas nods. He reaches for the button on his left, and suddenly, he’s barreling through the air. The Norwegian quickly positions himself so that he’d land flat on his feet, his clothing whipping around him. When he looked up he could see the plane speeding through the sky, now just a black spot in the sky.

        He knew that he was getting closer to the ground; he could feel the air pressure changing rapidly around him. Right at the last moment the male shot a blast of air at the ground, launching himself upwards briefly before gently floating down, sand swirling around him. Lukas heard a small thud from a distance away, and he knew that it was his luggage. He looked around,  seeing the ever-faint lights from a city nearby.

        With a deep breath the male stepped forwards, ready to begin what was going to be the most important mission of his career.


	5. {Chapter 3}

As soon as Lukas approached the city, he could hear pulsing music coming from what seemed to be the center of it. His orange eyes flickered to what seemed to be the main street, and several peoples’ forms were highlighted in shadow.

The male thought of what he’d do first, deciding on the plan he had thought out a couple of days before- Find a bar, talk to some people there, and find a place to stay for the duration of his time in Therion. As soon as the male’s feet hit concrete, he put on the identity that he had so carefully crafted for several days before.

Almost immediately, he spotted what seemed to be a bar; the neon lights outside of the building were in Chinese characters, bright blue bold against the stark orange of the flames in the street lamps and the darkness of the night. The male hummed slightly as he walked towards the building, scanning the outside of it for a moment before stepping inside.

Smoke filled the dimly lit room, most of it coming from opium pipes and joints that many of the patrons of the bar were holding. A low beat played, as well as what sounded like some kind of traditional instrument. So he didn’t look like a complete idiot, Lukas walked over to the bar, seating himself on one of the tall chrome barstools and signalling to the bartender to come over to him.

Soon enough the bartender did come over, humming slightly for a moment before speaking with a soft smirk on his lips. “Welcome to the den.” His deep red eyes held a bit of a gleam to them, his expression holding an underlying look of mischief.

Reflexively Lukas smirked softly back, shooting a quick wink at the male. Even though it felt unnatural to him, it was crucial; he had to blend in.

The bartender let out a small laugh, his voice holding a slight rasp before he spoke. “So, what would you like? Don’t worry, it’s on me.” He set his chin on his palm on the bar, shooting a wink at Lukas.

The Norwegian forced an easygoing tone to enter his voice as he spoke. “I just need to find a place to stay for a while, as well as a job. I’m new to the area.”

The bartender nodded, a look of understanding crossing his face. “Ah, that’s why I don’t remember seeing you around!” The long-haired male straightens his posture before holding out a hand, smirk still on his lips. “Welcome. My name’s Zao.”

Lukas took his hand, giving it a firm shake before speaking, his tone smooth. “I’m Lukas.” He grinned slightly, turning up the charm.

Once again Zao let out a small laugh, and he offered Lukas a small grin again before speaking. “Well, I live near the city center in one of the apartment complexes. There are a few places there, if you’re willing to go in that building.” He hums before speaking again. “That is, if you’re willing to deal with a lot of noise at night. If you don’t like the noise as much, there are a few homes on the outskirts here in Beijing. Though those will take a while to save up for.” He pauses, going to quickly refill another customer’s drink before heading back to the blonde and speaking. “As for jobs, there’s a bunch of places around here. Hell, if you want, I could hire you here.” The Chinese man states, his brows raising ever-so-slightly.

Lukas contemplated the offer for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly before he speaks. “I’ll think about it. Besides, I’d like to see what other opportunities there are around here.”

Zao nods slightly, closing his eyes before speaking. “Well, my half-brother Kuro has a shop in town square, if you’d like to see if you could get a job there. It’s called Black Rose.” He hums faintly as his eyes open, and he refills another customer’s drink before continuing. “Kuro’s friend Luciano also has a business, if you’re into the whole ‘exposition’ thing.” Zao states with a somewhat sly wink.

The Norwegian nodded before speaking, taking in the information and mentally filing it away for later usage. “Alright.” He offers a slight smile, humming for a moment. “Well, I’ll come back later and talk to you if I decide to take the job.” He gets up from his seat, bowing slightly towards Zao before speaking. “谢谢.”

The Chinese male chuckled faintly before speaking in response, bowing back. “不客气。” His eyes had a faint sparkle in them, and a soft grin hit his lips.

Lukas smiled a genuine smile back, turning to leave the smoke-filled shop with a hum. As soon as he stepped into the warm evening air, his gaze immediately set towards where he assumed the city center was. He began to follow the pulsing noise, soon stumbling upon what seemed to be a concert of some sort.

On a large stage at the end of the square there were two people standing behind what looked like a DJ’s turntables, headphones around their necks as they hyped up the crowd. Suddenly the bass in the music dropped, and the crowd bounced. 

One of the men on the stage caught Lukas’s gaze, green eyes sparkling warmly. He shot a quick wink at the male, causing him to blush faintly. Quickly he shook it off, smiling at the male before continuing on his way. He crept along the edge of the square, looking for the sign that led into Kuro’s shop.

Eventually he found it, the neon Japanese characters glowing in the light. The Norwegian opened the door, revealing a black-walled room with frames covering the walls. The faint buzz of a tattoo needle could be heard from behind a curtain, as well as the sound of rock music playing faintly through the shop. The soft sound of Japanese being spoken could be heard before a male emerged from behind the curtain, his brows furrowed slightly.

The male then spoke, one brow raising higher than the other before speaking. “Are you here to get inked?” His head tilted to the side slightly, his dark red eyes holding a slightly curious look to them.

“No, actually.” Lukas says, offering a faint smile. “I’m here to see about a possible job.” He tapped his fingers on the counter at the front of the parlor, his head tilting to the side slightly.

The red-eyed male nodded, peering behind the curtain for a moment and speaking to the person behind it before peering his head back out and speaking. “Alright. Give me a little bit, and I’ll be out. In the meantime…” He taps his finger on his chin for a moment before speaking. “How about you prepare a design so I can see what your style is like. Then we’ll talk.” He gestured to a stack of paper and pens before disappearing behind the curtain again.

Lukas walked over to where the paper was, grabbing a piece and a pen before starting to sketch something out. His eyebrows furrowed softly in concentration as he drew out a design, biting his lip softly as he dragged the pen across the page.

Before he knew it a woman came out from behind the curtain, a thin bandage covering her forearm. She spoke animatedly in Japanese before grabbing a leather jacket from one of the hooks by the door, sliding it on over her shoulders and leaving into the night.

With that, the Japanese male turned towards the Norwegian. His brow raised slightly as he spoke. “So, who recommended you?”

Lukas offered a faint grin before speaking. “Your half-brother Zao did. I just came from his establishment.”

The male’s brows furrowed, and he sighed softly before muttering something under his breath to himself. He then looked Lukas in the eye for a moment before walking over, looking at the design that the male had drawn. He picked up the paper, scanning it with narrowed eyes before speaking. “How long have you been doing art?”

“3 years.” Lukas lied smoothly, smiling faintly.

The Japanese male’s brows furrowed even further before he tapped his finger on his chin, his expression one of deep thought. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he spoke. “Based on what you’ve done…” He pauses for a moment, looking the sketch over for a moment. “It looks good. I’ll see you tomorrow, first thing. We’ll see how you do with the first customers of the day.” The male tucks his bangs behind his ear before speaking, faint smile gracing his lips. “If Zao didn’t mention it, I’m Kuro.”

Lukas nods before bowing slightly, speaking lightly. “I’m Lukas.”

“Well, welcome to the shop, Lukas.”


	6. {Chapter 4}

Lukas hummed faintly as he looked down at the design he had sketched out in pen, waiting for someone to enter the parlor. Kuro had taken the first customer that had come in; Lukas could hear the faint buzz of the tattoo needle in the background, making the ink bloom into skin in beautiful designs.

After about half an hour, the bell above the door jingled, signalling that someone had walked in. Lukas looked up from the sketch at the man who had walked in, smiling slightly at him before speaking. “Welcome to the Black Rose.”

The man nodded before speaking. “Is Kuro here?”

“He is, but he’s with a customer at the moment.” Lukas says, offering him a small smile. He taps his fingers on the desktop before speaking. “Do you want me to let him know that you’re here?” His brow raised slightly as his head tilted to the side.

“Yes, please. Tell him that it’s Luciano.” The male that he now knew to be Luciano crossed his arms , a slightly impatient look crossing his face. “And tell him that it’s urgent.”

Lukas nodded before he got up, turning and heading towards the curtain that Kuro was behind. When he peered his head in, he spoke. “A man that claims to be Luciano is here. He says it’s urgent.”

Kuro looked up at Lukas as he spoke, nodding softly. “Alright.” He turned to look at his customer, muttering softly in a language that Lukas recognized to be Finnish to them before getting up from his chair and speaking again. “Lukas, take over on this one. I’ll be back in a bit.”

The blonde male nodded, watching as his employer left the sectioned-off room, and he turned towards the customer that was currently at the chair.

The female turned her head, her violet gaze warm and soft. On her back was a sprawling masterpiece, mountain sides and trees making a beautiful picture on her pale skin in the ink. She offered Lukas a small smile before speaking. “ _ Hei _ .”  She then rested her head on her forearms, looking at the male before humming softly and closing her eyes. 

The blonde male sat down at the stool that was beside the female, picking the needle up and turning it on before dipping the instrument in some gray ink and bringing the needle to her skin. The two sat in comfortable silence for quite a while before the female spoke softly. “I’ve been working on getting this tattoo for a year almost, already… God, it’s been so long.” She lets out a soft laugh, seeming to think for a moment before speaking again. “I started getting it shortly after my wife had our son, Peter… I’m from the Finnish Province, and my wife was from the Swedish province. At least, before it became a territory of Typhoon…”

Lukas almost corrected the woman about how it was Hithan and not Typhoon, but he kept his mouth shut, continuing to listen to the woman as she spoke. He dipped his needle in the ink again, pressing it to the skin.

“It really hurt her to leave her home… She even had to leave her family, as she was the only Earth elementalist in it. All the rest were Water or Air elementalists.” Her voice seemed to fill with a slightly bitter tone for a moment before she let out a soft sigh. “I honestly wish this whole war thing hadn’t ever happened…”

Lukas’s brows furrowed softly, his orange-hued eyes seeming to gain a sympathetic gleam for a moment before he spoke softly. “I’m so sorry about that…” He took in a breath before turning away, thoughts filling his mind as he dipped his needle in the ink.

The female let out a soft sigh before speaking softly, a slight tone of melancholy in her voice. “Well, we just have to deal with it. The Earth keeps turning. It won’t stop for us just because we’re upset with something.”

A comfortable silence fell over the two, the sound of the needle buzzing and soft music filling the air. After about forty five minutes, Lukas could hear soft voices, and the bell that was over the door rang softly. After another moment, Kuro popped his head behind the curtain, soon stepping behind it and speaking softly. “There’s another customer that just walked in. I can take back over here, and you can go work with them.”

“Alright.” Lukas nods softly, turning off the needle and standing up from his stool before heading out of the dark curtain. He headed into the main area of the room, seeing a male standing there. His eyes were a bright shade of red, his hair a silvery white shade. When his gaze landed on Lukas, he smirked a little bit before speaking, his voice heavy with a German accent. “You’re doing my tattoo?”

“Indeed I am.” Lukas says, putting a slightly flirty and happy tone into his voice before speaking again, gesturing towards a curtain that was next to the one Kuro was behind. “Follow me.” He walked to the curtain, holding it open for the other male and waiting for him to pass through before stepping in himself and sitting on the stool before speaking. “So, what type would you like?”

“Actually,” the male states, pausing. “I have a design.” He quickly pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, handing it to Lukas before laying on his stomach on the padded table and speaking. “I’d like it on my back, between my shoulders.”

Lukas unfolds the paper, and is faced with the bird-like design that was on the flag of the Prussian province. He hums faintly for a moment before speaking. “You want it exactly like this?”

“ _ Ja _ .” The Prussian male says, resting his head on his arms for a few seconds before sitting up, bringing his hands to the hem of his t-shirt and bringing it over his head before setting it on the table.

Lukas couldn’t help but gain a faint blush on his cheeks as he scanned the male’s well-muscled torso momentarily, and he quickly snapped out of his mini-trance as he heard the male let out a soft chuckle. The Norwegian quickly went to grab the ink that he needed, starting up the needle and dipping it in the black ink before pressing it to the male’s pale flesh.

After a couple of hours, the design was done, and Lukas quickly applied a thin layer of a healing agent before pressing down a thin bandage and speaking. “There! It’s complete now, sir.” He took off the plastic gloves that protected his hands, standing up from the stool before speaking again. “Wait a couple of days before taking off the bandage.”

“Alright.” The male said, sitting up and putting his shirt back on before speaking again. “You know, you don’t have to be formal. My name is Gilbert, but you can call me Gil.” A toothy grin graced his lips, and he held out a hand for Lukas to shake.

The Norwegian male took it, shaking and smiling faintly. “I’m Lukas.”

Gilbert’s grin grew a little bit before he tilted his head to the side slightly, seeming to scan Lukas with his eyes for a moment before speaking. “You seem like you need to let loose.” He hums faintly for a couple of moments before speaking again. “You should go out with me and a couple of my friends later tonight. I think you’d like them.”

“Really?” Lukas says, tilting his head to the side slightly and raising a brow. He sat back down on the stool, tapping his fingers on his knee for a moment.

“Ja, you probably would.” The albino runs his fingers backwards through his hair before he spoke again. “How about I come pick you up at 10? Be in an outfit that’s comfy for dancing in.”

“Alright.” Lukas says, smiling a little bit. His eyes seemed to get a faint sparkle in them, and a bit more of a genuine smile graced his lips.

Tonight was going to be interesting.


	7. {Chapter 5}

Lukas stood outside of the tattoo parlor, his breath making small puffs of smoke in the slightly chill night air. He adjusted his sleeves slightly, tightening the tie that was around his neck slightly before looking around. Gilbert was supposed to be arriving at any moment.

As soon as he thought it the familiar Prussian came into sight, dark crimson leather jacket on his shoulders and a small grin on his lips. As soon as his red eyes met Lukas’ orange ones he grinned, waving slightly. “Hallo, Lukas!” He jogged up quickly, his eyes holding a slightly mischievous sparkle in them. “We’ll be meeting the other guys at the club. Anyways, ready to go?”

“Of course I am.” Lukas says, playfully rolling his eyes before continuing. “Would I have been standing here waiting if I wasn’t?”

Gilbert let out a slight laugh at the sarcastic remark, his grin widening. “Come on, follow me.” The male began to walk, looking back at Lukas for a moment before turning to walk again.

Lukas quickly ran to catch up with the taller male’s strides, and for a little while, they walked together in a comfortable silence. People’s gazes went to them as they walked, and some even began whispering to eachother, giggles occasionally escaping them. The atmosphere was light and happy, with a very faint air of mischief. 

After a while longer, pulsing music could be heard, the bass shaking the ground slightly as they approached. Once the two reached the doors, the sound of the music hit the two like a blast of air.

Gilbert’s grin grew a bit, and he grabbed onto Lukas’s wrist before speaking loudly over the music. “Come on!” He then began heading towards a table near a stage that had been set up, where three men sat.

Lukas couldn’t help but get the faintest nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. He made himself put on a light and happy expression, though, keeping his body language relaxed.

When the two got to the table, Gilbert spoke. “Toni, Francis, Al, this is Lukas.” As the albino sat down at one of the raised stools he gestured over to Lukas with his head before looking over at the male, raising his brow slightly and tilting his head to the side a little bit as well.

Lukas took this as an invitation to sit down on the stool next to the albino, offering a small smile to the men before speaking. “Hi!” He tilted his head to the side slightly, making eye contact with the three unfamiliar men and lacing his fingers together on the tabletop.

One of the males smiled back, his blue eyes glimmering slightly as he laced his fingers together and rested his chin on the interlaced section, tilting his head to the side slightly. When he spoke, his voice came out in a thick French accent. “Bounjour, Lukas. I am Francis.” His smile grew a little, and he used one hand to grab a wineglass that was half-full and take a sip.

One of the other males spoke, wide grin on his lips as he held out a hand for Lukas to shake. “I’m Antonio! You can call me Toni, though!” His lips curved upwards in a grin, and a twinkle filled his green eyes.

Lukas took his hand, shaking it and returning the small smile. His gaze turned to the other male at the table- Al, Gilbert had called him- and tilted his head to the side slightly, raising a brow a little bit.

The deep red-eyed male seemed to smirk softly before speaking, a rasp in his voice as well as an accent that Lukas easily identified as coming from the Southern part of the American province. “The name’s Allen. Call me Al, though.” He then sent Lukas a quick wink, soft smirk returning to his lips.

Lukas was about to speak before a waitress came over to the table, tilting her head to the side slightly as she raised a brow. Quickly she brought a hand up to adjust her thin-framed glasses before speaking, her voice holding a faint Italian accent. “Would you like something to drink, sir?”

Lukas thought for a moment before speaking. “What would you recommend?”

“Well…” The female says, tapping her finger on her chin momentarily before speaking. “I’d suggest the house specialty, the Lava Rock.” She hums slightly, baby blue eyes holding a light gleam.

“I’ll take one.” The Norwegian says, tapping his fingers on the table top. He offered a small smile to the woman, watching as she scurried off before turning to look at the men at the table.

Francis tilts his head to the side, looking at Lukas before speaking. “So, where are you from?”

“My family was from the Norwegian province. We moved, though, when it became part of Hithan.” Lukas rests his chin on his palm before speaking again. “But since then, we’ve lived in the Finnish province.”

The French male nodded, humming faintly before speaking again. “Ah. I thought I could hear a Scandinavian accent in your voice.” His blue eyes gained a small sparkle in them, and he rested his chin on his palm before taking a sip of his wine. 

Lukas hummed faintly as he straightened his posture, looking around for a few moments before speaking. “So, what do you guys do for a living?” He tilted his head to the side, raising a brow. He prayed that one of them had some kind of connection to the government; he needed to infiltrate it as soon as he could to gather the information that he needed.

“I’m a DJ!” Antonio said happily, his green eyes glittering slightly. His lips were curved upwards in a bit of a goofy grin, and his head cocked to the side, much like a puppy.

“I’m a designer.” Francis said, tapping his fingers on the tabletop before humming momentarily. He seemed to look off in the distance for a moment, lost in thought.

“Gil and I work for the army.” Allen says, leaning back in his seat and taking a sip from the deep red drink in his glass. “This is just one of the weeks that we have off.”

Lukas seems to perk up a bit at this, and he tilts his head to the side slightly, a genuinely interested expression crossing his face as he spoke. “Oh? What’s it like?” His fingers went up to mess with the charm on his necklace, pressing his thumb against the bottom of it as he was told to do by Lutz to start transmitting information.

“Well,” Allen began, tapping his fingers on the table for a moment before continuing. “Since one of the people from Typhoon took our battle plans months ago, everything’s gotten way more intense. “Mathias made us step up the guard, and train even harder than before.”

Lukas nodded as he took this information in, thumb still pressed to the bottom of the charm on the necklace. “Who’s Mathias?”

“He’s our commanding General. He actually should be coming here soon….” Gilbert says, looking behind him momentarily as though he was looking for someone. He then let out a faint sigh, turning his attention back to the group.

Lukas nodded at this, removing his thumb from the bottom of the charm on his necklace before speaking. “Ah, alright.” He took a sip of his drink, which had arrived at the table a short while before, the liquor burning as it went down his throat.

Suddenly, a familiar beat began to play throughout the room, and Lukas couldn’t help but grin faintly. He downed a little bit more of his drink before getting up and heading towards the dancefloor, fitting into the throng of people almost like a puzzle piece. The small bit of alcohol that he had drank already made his head fill with that slightly fuzzy feeling, and he actually kind of enjoyed it.

Just as the beat dropped in the song, he did too. People seemed to part as he danced, leaving a bit of a circle around him as they watched. His body seemed to move and flow almost like water to the beat.

When the song stopped, people began to cheer, and Lukas looked up, faint blush heating up his cheeks. He quickly headed back towards the table, where everyone looked at him with a gleam of awe in their eyes. 

It was silent for several moments before Gilbert broke the absence of noise. “Forget being a tattoo artist, you should be a dancer!” The Prussian male stated, his voice ecstatic.

Lukas’s cheeks heated up again at the praise, and he took a sip of his drink to hide it as he thought of how to explain the spontaneous burst. “I did dance when I was a kid.” He stated as he set his glass down, finding that the only explanation suitable for the moment.

Antonio had parted his lips, about to speak, when a scream could be heard coming from the other side of the room.


	8. {Chapter 6}

Chaos erupted as the room seemed to light up with both terror and confusion, people rushing in a wave towards the doors. Several people stood their ground, sending bits of fire from their hands at whatever had entered the room.

Lukas quickly stood up, turning to look at what had entered, and was met with a frosty blast of air to the face. Several people stood in the center of the room, shards of ice seemingly floating around them and shooting at members of the crowd. Multiple bodies were already slumped on the ground, scarlet pooling around their limp and lifeless forms.

The blonde’s blood pumped through his veins like fire, and before he knew it, he was charging at the group of people, eyes alight with the fire of adrenaline. He swiftly brought his foot up, roundhouse kicking one of the masked people before backing up a bit and effectively getting their attention. 

One of them charged at him, quickly sending shards of ice in his direction. He dodged several of them, feeling one impale itself in his leg with a sharp pin prick of pain. A sharp cry left his lips, and he whirled around, sending a blast of fire in their direction.

The leader of the small group stepped towards him, gesturing for the others to back off a bit with a motion of his hand. He then looked towards Lukas, stone-grey eyes gleaming with malice under the mask that he wore. With another small gesture, he motioned for Lukas to come forwards.

The Norwegian took that chance, darting forwards and aiming a punch for the man’s jaw. He grinned faintly when he felt the satisfying sting of the punch landing, stepping back so he could think of his next move briefly.

The other man cursed under his breath, stepping back before rushing forwards and aiming a punch for Lukas’s throat.

Lukas quickly ducked, his face hit with a small burst of wind from the force of the punch. He quickly turned, running over to the bar and grabbing a bottle of some sort of wine and holding it in front of him, watching as the man charged at him with something gleaming in his hand. 

With a start, he realized that it was a dagger.

The Norwegian tensed his muscles, his eyes narrowing as he waited for the right moment to strike. As soon as the other man came within swinging range Lukas swung the bottle with as much force as he could, shattering it against the side of his face.

The man  let out a loud grunt of pain, stumbling to the side and bringing a hand to the side of his face. When he pulled it away, scarlet was on his fingertips. His grip on his knife tightened, and he looked at Lukas with a murderous look in his eye. With a shout he ran towards the male, dagger poised and ready to strike.

But Lukas quickly combatted it, another bottle of wine in his hands to block the attack. He threw that one at the other male, quickly hopping over the counter. Another bottle was in his hands, and he adjusted his grip, both blood and wine making his hand slick.

When the other male hopped over the counter the Norwegian turned and ran, his blood a roaring sound in his ears. He jumped up to the edge of the counter, vaulting himself off and arching backwards in a flip. His feet landed smoothly on the ground and he ran back a couple of steps before smashing the bottle against the man’s back, grabbing the back of his head and roughly smashing his face into the counter.

The man’s form slumped, unconscious on the floor. His fingers lost their grip on the dagger, and the metal clanged against the floor.

Quickly Lukas pinned the other male down, straddling his back and holding down his elbows with his knees before he grabbed the dagger from the floor, holding the male’s hair back and holding the blade against his throat.

Shortly after the man regained consciousness, struggling in Lukas’s grasp. The Norwegian presses the blade into the male’s throat slightly, leaning down and speaking into his ear in a low and threatening growl. “If you struggle, I will not hesitate to slit your throat right here and now.” 

The man soon stopped struggling. Lukas could tell that if the man were looking at him, his glare would be as cutting as the dagger in his hand.

Eventually Lukas heard voices, and quickly he shouted out. “I’ve got one of them!”

Footsteps came over, and a familiar head of red-brown hair popped over the bar. Allen’s brow raised slightly before a small smirk graced his lips. “Damn, Lukas. You sure did a number on him.”

The Norwegian looked up at the American male, his gaze holding a slight glare in it.

Allen raised his hands in an ‘I surrender’ motion, hopping over the counter and quickly wiping a bit of blood from his cheek before speaking. “I’ll help you get him over.”

With a bit of work, the two males got the other man over the counter. Several people in what Lukas recognized to be the military uniforms of Therion held the other people, cuffs binding their wrists together.

“He got the last one!” Allen said, gesturing over to Lukas with his head and catching the attention of several of the other people.

One male stepped forwards, his eyebrow raising slightly. “He got him?” The male asked, looking over at Lukas and raising his brow a bit higher.

“Yeah. You should have seen it, Matthias. He did all these flips and everything-” Allen began, soft smirk on his lips as he got a pair of cuffs and put them on the man they had captured’s wrists.

Mathias nodded as he took in this information, quickly looking over to the small group of soldiers and saying something. He watched as the soldiers went off with the group of cuffed people, soon turning his attention back to Lukas and Allen. The Danish man’s gaze raked over Lukas, scanning him and seeming to do some kind of mental calculation.

Lukas shuddered slightly under the scrutinizing gaze, wondering where he had seen the male before. His brows furrowed slightly, and he was snapped out of his thoughts when the other blonde spoke. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Lukas.” The Norwegian stated, looking up at Mathias. “Lukas Bondevik.”

The Danish male’s eyes narrowed for a moment before his brows furrowed, and he spoke. “How did you know what to do to take him down?”

“I guess it was instinct.” Lukas states, shrugging slightly. His brilliant orange gaze looked into Mathias’s blue ones, and he quirked a brow slightly.

Mathias’s eyes seemed to narrow a bit more for a moment before going back to normal, and he seemed to think for a moment before speaking. “We thank you for what you’ve done.”

Before Lukas could even formulate a response, the Danish male left, the remaining people following behind him. 

The Norwegian let out a soft sigh before looking over to Allen, who was looking at the wound in his leg. “You should probably get that checked out.”

“Well no shit.” Lukas said, the stab of pain finally coming back to him. He winced, quickly moving to the counter to lean against it and relieve some of the weight from his leg.

Allen’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly, and he spoke quickly. “I’ll be right back.” And with that, he ran off. Shortly after he came back, a first aid kit of sorts in his hand. He helped Lukas over to a chair, pulling up his pant leg slightly. “I guess it’s a good thing that I got stuck being my squad’s medical personnel…” He mumbled softly.

Lukas seemed to nod slightly, and he simply watched as Allen set to work. He winced slightly when the other male pulled out the remnant of ice that had lodged itself in his leg, and he gripped the edge of the chair tightly. A small stream of curses left his lips when he felt peroxide being poured over the wound, and he shut his eyes tightly.

A short while after, the male felt bandages being wrapped tightly around his leg, and he opened his eyes.

Allen was getting up in front of him and spoke. “I’d suggest trying to keep as much weight as you can off of that leg. If I had crutches, I’d give them to you.” He offered the Norwegian a hand, which he gladly took.

Lukas pulled himself up, speaking softly. “ _ Takk skal du ha _ .” He offered a faint smile to Allen, his head tilting to the side slightly.

“It’s my job.” The American states, shrugging slightly. He offers a small smile back, though, before speaking again. “Now, we gotta tell whoever you work for that you probably won’t be working tomorrow.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t move much for my job anyways.” Lukas states, smiling sheepishly.

“Ah, right.” Allen said, recalling the conversation from earlier. His lips curved upwards again as he spoke. “Well, I hope we can talk again sometime. I’ve got to go.” His gloved hand waved as he turned, heading out the door into the undeniably now crowded street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of computer trouble last week, so this update's a bit late ^ ^ I promise I'll get the next chapter out on my usual Thursday/Friday schedule!
> 
> Anyways, I have a story to tell you~! One of my friends is my beta reader, and already he's picked out several shippings that he ships (We were talking about it earlier, and he said that there's at least 7 pairing opportunities per character- Which both terrifies me and excites me at the same time)  
> ~~~
> 
> So, Mathias is finally introduced! Now that he's here, where do you think that the story will lead?


	9. {Chapter 7}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not updating when I said I would! 
> 
> Here's an extra long chapter for y'all to make up for it!
> 
> {It was literally like 15 pages in Google Docs-}

Lukas had been so focused on the design that he was drawing that he didn’t hear the chime of the bell above the door that signalled someone came into the shop. A familiar voice hit his ears, and only then did he look up.

Gilbert’s ruby red eyes gazed into Lukas’ orange ones, and they seemed to glow with both excitement and concern. “I heard about what happened after those people came in.” He seemed to grin slightly before speaking again. “Your leg okay?”

“As okay as it will be for now.” Lukas said, looking down to his bandaged leg before looking up at the albino.

“A lot of people are amazed about how you managed to take that guy down with only that one injury and a few bruises.” Gilbert says, resting his chin on his palm and tilting his head to the side slightly. “Hell, I’m amazed!”

A somewhat bashful blush hit Lukas’ cheeks, and he spoke, averting his gaze slightly. “Well, when you need to survive, you do what you have to do.”

The chuckle that came from the Prussian caused him to blush a little bit more before he looked back over at the other male. 

Gilbert had a cheeky grin on his lips, and he relaxed his posture for a fraction of a moment before he straightened up. “Well, I’ve got to go. Just stopped by to see how you were!”

“Goodbye!” Lukas said, waving slightly and watching as the Prussian male left the tattoo shop. His gaze went back down to his drawing, and he was about to pick up his pencil again when he heard the bell. 

This time, when he looked up, he saw someone that he certainly didn’t expect to see.

The Danish male approached the front desk, a serious look on his face for a moment. He then cracked a faint smile before speaking. “ _ Hej, _ Lukas. Do you mind if I speak with you for a few brief moments?” His head tilted to the side slightly, one brow quirking upwards faintly as his lips pursed in a straight line.

“Give me a moment.” The Norwegian states, getting up as quickly as he could and heading over to one of the curtains and peering behind it. “Kuro?” He said quietly.

Said Japanese male looked up from his work, raising a brow slightly. “Yes?”

“Someone is here and wants to talk to me. Is it alright if I go for a bit?”

“ _ Hai _ .” Kuro said softly, nodding his consent before turning back to his work.

Lukas removed his head from the curtains, turning to walk towards Mathias. “He said I could talk for a bit.”

Mathias nodded, gesturing towards the door with his head. “Come on.”

The Norwegian nodded, walking along slowly towards the door and following the Dane outside. He leaned against the wall, tilting his head to the side as the other male began to speak.

“I watched the security footage from the club last night. What you did was stupid, but incredibly brave.” He paused for a moment before continuing, crossing his arms over his chest. “Those people were just a small part of a group we’ve been trying to hunt down for years. But they were a vital part of it.” The Dane’s brows furrowed slightly for a moment, as though he were in deep thought. When he snapped out of it, he spoke, his voice holding a serious tone. “After careful deliberation, I’ve decided that I want to ask you to join the Army. Of course, you can decline,” Mathias begins, tapping his fingers on his arm. “But it would be a loss to the defense of the country.”

Lukas almost shouted yes, but he restrained himself. This was exactly what he needed! He straightened his posture, crossing his arms over his chest as he furrowed his brows in fake thought. After a moment Lukas looked up, meeting Mathias’s gaze and speaking. “I will accept your request.” He offered a faint smile afterwards, masking most of his inner emotions.

Mathias’s eyes seemed to light up faintly at this, and a faint smile hit his lips as well. His expression turned back to a serious one a few moments later, and he spoke. “Well, you should start your training as soon as possible. I will be back here in approximately two hours to take you and your belongings to base.” The blonde’s brows quirked slightly for a moment, and he spoke before turning and walking away. “I will see you soon, Cadet Bondevik.”

~~~~~~~~

Lukas stood outside of the tattoo parlor, waiting for Mathias to arrive. He looked around momentarily before pressing his thumb to the bottom of the charm on his necklace, speaking quickly. “In a few moments, I’m heading to their base. The general himself asked me to join their ranks.”  The male took his thumb off of the bottom of the charm, and he straightened his posture. Just in time, too.

Mathias’ familiar blonde head came into view, his face holding a stoic look. When he got close enough to Lukas for him to be able to be heard, he spoke. “Ready?”

“Yes, I am.” Lukas stated, humming faintly for a moment before leaning down to pick up his trunk of clothing. He winced slightly when the weight was put on his leg, but he straightened up, the large and somewhat heavy trunk in his arms.

The two began to walk in silence, several gazes settling on them as they walked down the street.

‘ _ What an odd pair we must seem like _ ,’ Lukas thought, his lips curving upwards faintly. A slight hum left his lips, his eyes closing for a fraction of a moment before opening back up again. 

A comfortable silence settled over them once again, only being broken when Mathias stopped in front of a building and spoke. “Follow me.” He then approached the doors, opening them and holding one for Lukas.

The Norwegian quickly stepped into the building, looking around the lobby before looking to Mathias and raising a brow slightly. “Is this-”

“No.” The Danish male cut off quickly before speaking again. “We have to go to the roof. We’re taking a jet there.”

“Ah.” Lukas says, pursing his lips together tightly before following Mathias to an elevator on the opposite side of the lobby. 

Mathias quickly input a code in a panel near the elevator, his fingers tapping on his thigh as he waited for the doors to open. A few moments later the metal slid open, and both blondes stepped into the compartment.

As the compartment went upwards, Lukas delved into his thoughts, his brows furrowing a bit. As soon as they got there, he would probably have to take his things to wherever he was staying. And following that, a tour would most likely be given. The Norwegian made a mental note to commit the layout of the building to memory so he could relay it to Lutz via his transmitter later. 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Mathias nudged him, and the elevator doors opened to the roof of the building. Already there waiting was a sleek black jet, its engine but a soft purr in the rushing wind above the building. Lukas quickly grabbed his trunk, walking alongside Mathias to the jet.

The Danish male knocked on the side of the vehicle, and the back of the jet seemingly opened. He gestured for Lukas to follow him in, climbing into the plane and speaking to the pilot for a couple of moments. He then went to one of the seats in the back compartment, sitting in it and looking straight forward as it strapped him in.

Lukas walked into the jet, sitting in a seat across from Mathias and setting his trunk on the ground at his feet. He leaned back slightly, his posture straightening as the vehicle strapped him in. The male hummed as the jet lifted off, and the familiar feeling of being in the air calmed his nerves slightly.

The ride was a rather long one, and by the time they had gotten to the base, Lukas had almost dozed off. He quickly shook his head, though, waking himself up a bit as the jet landed.

Mathias stood as soon as he unbuckled his restraints, speaking. “I will take you to your quarters, where you will be staying with your squad. Your schedule for training is the same as theirs, so you will travel around base together. During your free time, I will have one of your squadmates take you to get fitted for a uniform.”

Lukas nodded, unbuckling his restraints as well. He leaned down after he stood up, picking up his trunk of belongings and waiting for the jet to open up. When it did he had to squint, for the sun was extremely bright in his eyes.

When he was able to fully see again, he realized that they were surrounded by mountains on all four sides. They were at the top of a large building, the roof flat and holding many different types of aircraft. His brilliant orange eyes scanned the rooftop, mentally noting the design of each of the individual aircraft so he could report back to Lutz later. He also noted the large arena-like area that stood in the corner, trees filling the space.

Mathias began to walk out of the jet, and Lukas essentially had to run after him to catch up. The two made it to another elevator, and the Danish male input a code before the doors opened.

Lukas stepped in after Mathias, and he hummed faintly as the elevator began to move slowly. Suddenly, it dropped, and the Norwegian gripped onto the railing in the metal container as they seemed to freefall. The elevator stopped after a few moments, and Lukas had to take in several deep breaths to calm his rapidly beating heart. 

Mathias let out a laugh, the sound sending a faint red hue across Lukas’ cheeks. He had a small grin on his lips as he spoke. “I always do that to newcomers. It always gets the best reactions.” His blue eyes held a slight gleam of mischief in them, and his expression was a happy one.

The elevator doors opened a moment after, leading to a hallway with several doors on it. Lukas followed Mathias as he came to the fourth one on the right, immediately looking around the room. 

There were six beds, a small nightstand beside each one of them. Small knick-knacks and other items decorated 5 of them, giving the room a somewhat homey feel.

Mathias hummed faintly before turning to Lukas, a brow quirking slightly for a moment before he spoke. “Your squad should be back right about…” He paused for a couple of moments, brows furrowing before he spoke again. “Now.”

As the Danish male spoke, five people came into the room, grins on their lips as they loudly spoke. As soon as they realized that Mathias was in the room their postures straightened, their attention immediately on him.

Lukas let a small grin grace his lips as he saw the glimmer of recognition flash across the albino and brunettes’ faces, and he was immediately glad that Gilbert and Allen were in his squad.

When Mathias spoke, Lukas looked over to him, listening intently. “Alright, Squad 72! This is your new addition, Lukas!” The Danish male gestured to Lukas with his head before continuing. “Treat him like you would treat each other.” He hums for a faint moment before speaking again, looking over at one of the males in the small group. “Alfred, could you take him to go get fitted in his uniform?”

“Of course I can!” The sandy-blonde haired male said cheerily as he stepped forwards, his azure blue eyes sparkling. His head tilted to the side slightly as he looked at Lukas, his lips curving upwards in a goofy grin. “Follow me, dude!”

Lukas nodded slightly, and he quickly went to put his trunk on the empty bed before following the male out the door and into the hall. 

As soon as they were far enough down the hall, Alfred spoke. “So, what made you decide to join?” His brow quirked upwards, and he input the code into the elevator for the necessary floor.

Lukas hummed faintly for a moment, stepping into the elevator when the door opened. “Mathias recruited me himself.” The male tapped his fingers on his thigh, humming once again.

Alfred’s eyes seemed to widen a bit, and his grin turned awestruck. “Dude, that’s so cool! He only ever recruits people himself if they’re super good!” The male began to hum a tune under his breath as the elevator went down.

The rest of the ride was spent in a comfortable silence. When the doors opened, Alfred spoke. “Welcome to the Center!” He spread his arms in a grand gesture as he stepped into the large and almost cavernous room.

Lukas looked around, his eyes widening slightly as his gaze scanned the room. The room held all kinds of machinery, and the whir of electricity could be heard. Lukas snapped himself out of his mini-trance, following Alfred as he walked to the other side of the room.

There was a capsule-like machine in the corner of the room. As both males approached it, Alfred spoke. “You just step into this, and the machine will scan you. According to your measurements and body weight, it will assign you your class in the squad.”

Lukas nodded, walking towards the machine. When he stepped in he closed his eyes, hearing the door of the machine close. After several moments, an automated voice spoke. “Cadet Bondevik, Squad 72. Your assigned class is Assassin.”

When the door opened, Lukas looked at Alfred, seeing the male’s eyes widen a bit. The Norwegian’s brows furrowed slightly, and his head tilted to the side slightly. “What’s wrong?”

Alfred seemed to snap out of his small trance, grin gracing his lips before an ecstatic grin graced his lips. “Nothing’s wrong! It’s just that hardly anybody gets assigned to the Assassin class !” His eyes held an excited sparkle, and he seemed to bounce in place slightly. Eventually the blonde snapped himself out of his excited state, and he spoke again as he began to walk. “Follow me. Your uniform should be ready-”

“That fast?” Lukas stated, brows going upwards in surprise.

“That’s right!” Alfred stated cheerily, humming as he came to a stop a short moment later in front of a table with some sort of tube suspended over it. “We developed the technology a while back. The machine can sew almost anything within a few seconds.” As he finished speaking, a neatly folded stack of clothing dropped out of the tube. “Feel free to go in there to get changed. I’ll get you hooked up with your armor and weapons in a bit.” He gestured to an area that was separated from the room by a curtain.

Lukas nodded, and he grabbed the pile of clothing, heading over to the curtained-off area. Quickly he stripped himself down, putting on the other tight-fitting clothing. As he stepped out with his other clothes in his arm Alfred spoke, his voice on the opposite side of the room. “Over here!”

The Norwegian jogged lightly over to where the other male stood, his brow raising slightly as he saw that his armor was laid out on a table similar to where he had gotten his current clothing from.

Almost immediately Alfred picked up the chestpiece, helping Lukas to secure it to his form as he talked. “You’re gonna love it here. The guys in our unit are pretty great.” He continued to put the armor on over Lukas’s clothing. Once he was done he hummed in satisfaction, grinning slightly before speaking. “I’m gonna go get your weapons.”

Lukas nodded, watching as the blonde walked over to a cabinet before inputting a code. As soon as it opened, the Norwegian’s eyes widened. Inside the cabinet there were row upon row of different weapons. Knives of various sizes were gleaming, neatly lined up in rows on the shelves. Several swords gleamed in their stands, deadly and sharp edges shining.

Alfred grabbed two strap-like sheaths, sliding several knives and a pistol into them before coming over to Lukas and handing them to him. “Those get strapped onto your thighs.”

Lukas nodded, analyzing the straps for a moment before putting them on his legs and tightening them. He could feel the metal through his clothes, the coldness somewhat of a comfort to him. His fiery orange eyes looked over to Alfred, and he raised a brow slightly.

Alfred grinned, and he spoke after letting out a slight hum. “You look like a badass.” His fingers tapped on the armor covering his own thigh, and it took him a couple moments to speak again. “Let’s get going. Our free time is going to be over soon, and we’ve got to get you ready for Flag.”

“Flag?” Lukas asked, following Alfred as he quirked a brow.

The American grinned, and his eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief slightly. “Oh, you’ll see.”


	10. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys~! I'm back from the dead to post this update-
> 
> I won't be able to be online for a while (due to my parentS BEING ASSHOLES-), so it'll be a while before I update again-  
> Anyways, enjoy this shitty update!

Lukas hummed faintly as he adjusted the earpiece that Gilbert had given him, and he spoke, one brow raising slightly. “So, basically all we have to do is get their flag and beat them to the finish line?”

“ _ Ja _ .” The Prussian stated bluntly, and he looked around at the rest of the small squad before speaking again. “When we get out there, we won’t know what our course will look like. Which will be a disadvantage, but we’ll deal with it. We’ve done it in the past, have we not?”

“We have.” Allen says, grin on his lips with a sparkle in his eyes.

“But we’re against the _ Loimu  _ this time, Gilbert! They haven’t been defeated even ONCE yet!” Tino says, his eyes slightly wide as he hoisted his rifle over his shoulder. 

Lukas’ brows furrowed slightly, and his head tilted to the side slightly. “ _ Loimu _ ?”

“The Blaze.” Gilbert said smoothly as he looked over to Lukas, and he tapped his fingers on his thigh for a moment before speaking again. “It’s what we call the General and the commanding officers.” 

Lukas nodded upon taking in this information, and his lips parted to speak again. But his voice was cut off by one coming in through a set of speakers in the ceiling. “Squad 72, please report to the Flag course! We will be beginning soon.”

“We’ll be right out, Taika!” Tino chirped, humming faintly a moment later.

Gilbert looked around at everyone before practically shouting, his eyes holding an excited sparkle in them. “Are you guys ready to kick some ass out there?!”

“Hell yeah!” Allen and Alfred shouted, their identical grins infectious. 

“Let’s go!” Finn shouted, his grey-green eyes holding a hyper gleam in them.

“Let’s get out there!” Gilbert shouted once again, practically throwing open the door and storming down the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lukas’ eyes widened slightly as he and the rest of Squad 72 stepped onto the Flag course, jaw dropping slightly as he watched metal structures seemingly pop up everywhere in front of him. A familiar chuckle took him out of his trance-like state, and the Norwegian turned to look at Gilbert. 

The Prussian male held up a rectangular piece of red silk, tossing it to Lukas before speaking. “Run like hell to the other side of the course. We’ll cover you.”

The blonde nodded as he caught the fabric in his leather-gloved fingertips, and he wove the fine fabric through his fingers before tying the silk to his uniform’s belt.

Moments later, the same voice that had summoned the group of men to the course blasted over the large area. “Good evening, everyone! Taika here, and I’ll be the announcer for the game of Flag this evening!”

The stands surrounding the Flag course erupted with cheers and shouts, and it took several moments for the sound to quiet down before Taika began to speak again. “Today, it’s Squad 72 versus our wonderful commanding officers in the race to the finish line! It’s going to be intense!”

The crowds roared again, and Lukas’ muscles tensed as a loud ticked down. A cannon boomed, and Lukas began to bolt, adrenaline pumping rapidly through his veins. He rapidly began climbing one of the steel structures, running along the metal platforms and beams with ease. Down below he could see the forms of some of his teammates clashing with the commanders, and a faint grin graced his lips.

Moments later the Norwegian could hear the clang of metal boots on one of the beams below him, and he sped up his pace, jumping to the next structure over before turning for a moment. As he did, a knife blade whirred past him, leaving a small cut on his cheek.

Mathias was there on the other structure, a piece of orange silk tied to his belt. He ran forwards, jumping onto the steel structure and quickly regaining his footing as he came towards Lukas.

Lukas quickly ran a few steps back, and he ducked as Mathias sent a punch directly at his face. The blonde then rolled to the side, quickly hopping back up onto his feet and aiming a roundhouse kick at Mathias’ head.

The Dane was prepared for this though, and he quickly caught Lukas’s foot, flipping the other male over his shoulder and onto the ground.

Lukas let out a grunt as the breath was knocked out of him, and he grit his teeth as Mathias quickly pinned him down. He struggled, trying to kick Mathias off of him as he wiggled.

Mathias quickly tried to untie the knot in the flag on Lukas’s belt, cursing under his breath as the knot seemed to get even more intricate.

This caused a smirk to grace the Norwegian’s lips. He managed to get his feet under Mathias’ hips, and he pushed upwards, letting out a grunt as he rolled backwards.

Mathias cursed again, and he charged at Lukas once he regained his footing.

Lukas quickly stepped to the side, immediately running towards the edge of the platform. He quickly jumped, grabbing onto the beam that supported the platform before swinging to the next metal structure over, casting a quick glance back at the Dane.

Mathias had regained his footing, and was now running towards the edge of the platform. He let out a grunt as he jumped, landing smoothly. He charged towards Lukas again, but the male moved to the side.

Lukas jumped up, managing to land a kick to Mathias’s chest. He managed to push the other quickly to the ground, straddling his hips and pinning his legs down with his knees. His fingers worked deftly at the knot, and he managed to untie it. He sprung upwards immediately, moving like a gale-force wind to the edge of the platform. He dove down to the next platform, not looking back. 

The Norwegian lifted one hand to his earpiece, shouting as he moved. “Guys, head towards the finish line! I’ve got their flag!”

A victorious cry rang through the earpiece, and he heard Gilbert’s voice. “Alright. Run like hell, Lukas! We’ll be there in a bit!”

“Alright!” Lukas shouted again, and he stopped at the edge of the platform. He looked back, seeing that Mathias would take a few moments to catch up. With a deep breath he took a few steps backwards, running forwards. His muscles tensed as he jumped to the final platform, and he quickly scaled down it.

His muscles burned as he sprinted towards the black flag that marked the finish line, and he heard the shouts of his squadmates behind him. The moment that the Norwegian passed the flag the crowd in the stands along the course erupted in cheers, and he let out a joyful shout.

“Aaaaand that concludes this evening’s game of Flag! Squad 72 reigns victorious this time!” Taika’s voice boomed over the course, full of cheer.

Lukas almost let out a small squeal when he felt himself being lifted off of the ground, and he looked down to see Alfred holding him in a bearhug.

“Dude, that was amazing! How’d you manage to get the flag from their-”

“He managed to pin me.” Mathias said as he walked up to the small group, and his gaze trained on Lukas’ for a few moments before he continued to speak. “You did an excellent job, considering it was your first game of Flag.” He offered Lukas a faint smile before it turned to a soft smirk. “Next time, though, we’ll see if you’re so lucky.”  
Lukas smirked faintly, and he hummed for a moment before speaking. “Highly doubt that you’ll be able to beat us.”

Mathias’s brow raised momentarily before he burst out in laughter. He put a hand on Gilbert’s shoulder before looking to everyone in the small group. “Well, celebrate however you deem fit here. Just remember that you have combat training first thing in the morning.”

Collectively the group groaned, and Mathias let out another loud laugh before turning. “Well, goodnight!”


End file.
